


The Good Soldier

by Noducksinpond



Series: Into Space - A Doctor Who Oneshot collection [6]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: AU, POV Second Person, my take on an end to series 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 18:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3218423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noducksinpond/pseuds/Noducksinpond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know what he would do, you´ve seen that countless times too. Someone would offer to stay behind, and he´d let them, probably tell them some inspiring words first or the like, but at the end of the day, he´d still let them. You know that, and the thing that worries you is that it´s the first thing that springs into your mind too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Good Soldier

He´s unconscious, and that´s why they´re panicking. He is good at taking charge, calming people down, even by being a self-righteous prick. You know this, you´ve seen it in action enough times to count on it. But this time he had to go and get himself knocked out. The one he just had to go and let you down

You and the crewmembers have found the solution to the abandoned android planet colliding with Earth, that´s not your problem. The problem is what to do next. You know what he would do, you´ve seen that countless times too. Someone would offer to stay behind, and he´d let them, probably tell them some inspiring words first or the like, but at the end of the day, he´d still let them. You know that, and the thing that worries you is that it´s the first thing that springs into your mind too.

That´s a lie; it terrifies you. You´ve seen him, both the old and the new him, sacrifice people, because he believes it is the better solution. Seen him trick people into eating suicide pills, like their lives didn´t matter. Hell, you´ve seen him been willing to destroy his own planet, even when he had a chance to do it over. You´ve always told yourself that you were better than him, that you were somehow his moral compass, because you´d seen his entire life like you had, and maybe that was true once.

But not anymore. You´re falling apart at the seams. Danny is gone, you hardly see your dad, and teaching is becoming more and more trivial. None of it mattered, and you started to disappear away from that life. Maybe one day you would have disappeared completely, but you won´t get the chance now. You let out a small tired sigh, knowing there is no way to take the words back, once you have said them. “So Marcus,” you say directed at the mechanic standing next to you. “How do I jumpstart the engine of an android planet?”

“Clara,” he says, clearly sounding more than a little surprised, but quickly recollecting himself. “An engine that old could be incredibly unstable; starting would most likely make it blow.”

“Okay,” you reply, and your voice shakes a little. “I still got to do it though, so the basics maybe?” You inhale the sharp, loaded air and then add as an afterthought, you wiggle your hands a little to illustrate the point: “Oh, and one of the teleport bracelets.”

Arina, the ship´s cook, throw you hers and you catch it easily, putting it around your wrists, while you listen to Marcus´ instructions. The 4 other crew members are silent, and avoids your eyes. You know they´re grateful, they don´t have to risk their life to save Earth, didn´t have to offer themselves up for it. But you don´t think too much about it, because you have to understand the instructions, which actually seems surprisingly simple.

Once Marcus is done, you kneel down beside the Doctor, and nicks the TARDIS homing device from his coat pocket, the one he used to trick you on Trenzalore. Then you bury your hand in your own pocket and fish out the TARDIS key. Now it´s your turn to give instructions: “You need the key to get in, and this is a homing device. It makes the TARDIS take you home. I don´t know, where it´s programmed to take you though. Get to the TARDIS with the Doctor and go. I can give you 10 minutes.”

Your eyes wander around the giant hall, made to look like Gallifrey´s houses, a museum to a lost world. That´s how you and the Doctor had ended up here in the first place, and ran into the crew of the shuttle who had crashed on the android. It´s not the real deal, but you still breathe it in. This is how the place you helped save looked like, this is a world filled with people somewhere. That´s a pretty good thing to be remembered by, right? You smile sadly, and rise from the floor again, ignoring the tears that threaten to fall, and looking at the crew.

“Tell the Doctor,” you begin, not knowing what words can probably articulate everything the Doctor is to you. A best friend, a kindred spirit, one of the few people left in the world, who you would care about losing. “I wouldn´t miss it for the world.”

You press the buttons on the teleport bracelet, and land in the engine room. Switching on the cameras, so you can see the crew´s progress to the TARDIS, you get to work.

You save the Earth, the Doctor and the shuttle´s crew.

You don´t save yourself.

But really you hadn´t expected to, so that kind of dulls the tragedy. Makes the cut less sharp.

At least for you.


End file.
